Thursday, June 14, 2012

Internationalising SL universities and appointing vice chancellors



By O. A. I. Ileperuma,the island

Reading through the series of articles on the above matter by my friend Prof. Ranjith Senaratne (The Island May 30, 2012) was like reading through a fantasy novel. Nevertheless he should be congratulated on bringing in a burning issue which continuously frustrates the academic community in Sri Lanka on the appointment of their Vice Chancellor. Finding the right person to the position of Vice Chancellor of a University is important; not only in the interest of the university, but also in national interest because thousands of students and the general public view this leadership with high expectations as somebody who can truly contribute to their future.

Prof. Senaratne’s particular emphasis was on the role of the Vice Chancellor and how they are appointed in the top Universities of the World like Harvard, Oxford and Cambridge. However, I would have liked him to talk about the intricacies we in Sri Lanka follow in appointing Vice Chancellors. Let me quote from his article, " Vice Chancellors are treated differently from all other Heads of Public Institutions as reflected for instance in the totally different procedures that apply to the appointment of Vice Chancellors as compared with other senior public administrators" This is absolutely true! However, he should have elaborated on these "totally different procedures". This is where the pathetic state of affairs with respect of the appointment of Vice Chancellors becomes apparent. Let me explain the current procedure adopted in the selection of a Vice Chancellor. The University advertises this post where in impressive academic credentials are called for the coveted post of Vice Chancellor. Aspiring applicants who are sure that they can get the necessary political support do not care for the high academic standards called for while the more serious applicants who think they have the required qualifications and experience also apply with lengthy dossiers of publications, vision statements etc. Unlike any other post such as a Lecturer or a Professor, the application for the Vice Chancellor only goes to the Council of the University where the majority is political appointees of the minister. The applicants are not ranked according to academic merit but by a secret vote! This is part of the "different procedure" adopted in the selection of the Vice Chancellor. The vote too depends on how much the candidate influences the Council members through the political authorities and not on the curriculum vitae submitted. Interestingly, canvassing may be a disqualification for many other jobs but not this particular one!

Influence peddling

The one who works well in advance to get this job on political merit, makes sure that he signs election lists at the right time, shows his face at election meetings or other social gatherings. Often they tap someone influential close to the highest political authorities to pass a word on his/her behalf. Once these links are established and if the appointing authority is also convinced about the candidature of this person, it is just a matter for the higher ups to inform the appointed members of the council to vote for their favourite. Many respectable senior academics do not even consider applying for this post because they do not want to go down on knees to politicians to get this position. Application to any other post like a Lecturer or a Professor involves facing an interview panel of eminent academics in the same area of specialisation and the evaluation of academic credentials such as research publications, books written and dissemination of knowledge. Can Prof. Senaratne elaborate more on whether such credentials are evaluated and if not what other criteria are considered in making Vice Chancellor appointments?

In Prof. Senaratne’s article, many examples such as Harvard and Cambridge are given where people from outside the University system have been appointed as Vice Chancellors. These Universities look for the best qualified persons with proven track records who can carry the Universities forward enabling them to survive in an increasingly competitive and challenging environment. This is the case even in our region. When the Vice Chancellor for the post of University of Madras, a highly prestigious university, which is one of the oldest in India fell vacant, Chief Minister Jayalalitha entrusted the task of finding a suitable person to three eminent scientists in India. One of these members personally told me that there was no influence by her or any other politicians in making this appointment and the best person was selected. Politicians and the members of this particular selection panel love their country and care for the well-being of this educational Institution founded in 1839, that they do not want it ruined by an under-qualified political henchman. Many Universities in India follow similar procedures but there have also been cases of abuse by certain corrupt Governors in appointing Vice Chancellors of smaller Universities. For universities in India, the mandatory requirements are that the applicant should be a Professor with over 10 years of experience and a proven track record of academic and administrative leadership. In contrast, Sri Lanka does not have any requirement except political affiliation and we have senior lecturers appointed as Vice Chancellors overlooking many senior academics.

Advertising Vacancies

Prof. Senaratne mentions advertisements to appoint Vice Chancellors, Deputy Vice Chancellors and Deans of Universities in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Vietnam and "fishing in global waters" to select high calibre professionals. It is not impossible to imagine that in Sri Lanka, if such a scheme is adopted, our Universities will be filled by defeated political candidates and other political stooges.

We in Sri Lanka are still in the dark ages as regards the appointment of Vice Chancellors. The University academic community and academic bodies like the Senates have no say in appointing their leader and no one really knows on what basis the Vice Chancellor is selected from among the three names submitted to the President. Clearly we are 50 years backward compared to other universities even in this region. No wonder that none of our Universities are ranked in the first 1500 in the world ranking of universities.

Appointing Vice Chancellors on the basis of political affiliation generally results in him/her as more accountable to the government than to the university. This can lead to major conflicts between the academic staff and students on the one hand and also with the University administration on the other. Appointment on the basis of pure academic merit can at least ensure that the Vice Chancellor selected has some sort of credibility in the eyes of the academic staff and the students.

In the last of the series Prof. Senartane talks about the unsatisfactory procedures adopted in the advertisement for the post of Vice Chancellor and stress the need to look beyond the confines of the university in attracting best qualified people. This point is well taken. He also quite correctly argues that "Circular no. 880 of 15.08.2006 concerning the appointment of a Search Committee to identify suitable candidates is in this respect faulty and self-defeating". This committee consists only of academics from the same university to which a Vice Chancellor is appointed and does not have teeth to make any impact. For example, in the recent selection of three names for the post of Vice Chancellor at the University of Peradeniya, this committee made no recommendations. These concepts of head hunting are common in highly developed countries and it is the best procedure available. However, it is doubtful whether our politicians will allow this to happen. For them, universities need to be under their central control and even if the UGC is serious about such a procedure it will not happen in Sri Lanka for the obvious reasons mentioned above.

Unsatisfactory Process

What Prof. Senaratne has not mentioned is the procedure adopted after the nominations reach the UGC and then the President. Would he be candid about the unsatisfactory nature of the current process for appointing Vice Chancellors at the highest level? The whole exercise which Prof. Senaratne is trying to promote is useless unless those who are at the highest authority feels that Vice Chancellors should be appointed according to pure academic merit and experience. In any case, Prof. Senaratne should be thanked for bringing into light the shortcomings of the procedure and the need to appoint good mangers to head our higher educational Institutions.

Sri Lanka is not the only country where the Head of State appoints the Vice Chancellor. Considering the immense responsibilities attached and the importance of this post, it is always the Head of State or the Governor of a Province who appoints Vice Chancellors. It is my belief that this practice should continue in Sri Lanka but not the the way it is done. Many Asian Universities also follow similar procedures. However, their initial screening involving a powerful search committee involving those outside the university concerned recommends only the most suitable person to this post and certainly the kind of political manipulation as happening in Sri Lanka is by and large absent. Hong Kong University Council appoints the Vice Chancellor on the recommendation of the Senate and there is no interference from the Head of State. This explains why the University of Hong Kong is ranked number one in Asia and there are only a few universities in the Asian region in the top 100 Universities in the world. In developed countries such as Canada, a professional Human Resources firm is recruited to select the most qualified candidate and in consultation with the Board of Trustees recommends a single name to the Governor of the Province.

According to Prof. Senaratne, we spend Rs. 20 billion annually to maintain our Universities, and the public of this country has a right to demand much more from our universities such as new degree programmes, life-long education, to serve as knowledge hubs and contribute to economic prosperity. The appointment of the Vice Chancellor on a political basis greatly reduces the ability to harness the full potential of the University community to move forward.

 

Editorial - Don’t fiddle with free education


With the gradual and now extensive privatisation of the health sector, the cost of warded treatment in private hospitals is so high that it is beyond the reach of more than 85 per cent of our people. In addition to five-star hotels, we now have five-star hospitals where helpless unsuspecting patients are plundered and their families lose most of their savings.

We need to take a lesson from what has happened in the health sector and act fast before some vested interests backed by arrogant politicians privatise the equally–important sector of education to such an extent that it causes serious damage to the free education service which has been one of the precious blessings for Sri Lanka in a country plagued by rampant corruption and fraud, deception and hypocrisy.



The attack on free education began with the setting up of international schools. Indeed there were loads of faults and failures in public schools with hundreds of them lacking even basic facilities. The root cause of it was the inadequacy of the budgetary allocation for education. During the thirty–year war a huge allocation had to be made for defence, but even after the end of the war, the allocation for education has not been significantly increased while Education Minister Bandula Goonewardene often talks of cheese but gives chalk. Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayake has virtually declared war on those who are opposing his plans to set up private universities and to give official status to the private medical college which was set up at Malabe in a subtle if not deceptive way. Minister Dissanayake who had his roots in the Communist Party seems to have turned full circle and often talks like an outright capitalist with a tone that is arrogant and unwilling to come to some middle path of accommodation. As a result, he has antagonised thousands of university students, academic and non-academic staff on issues ranging from privatisation to salary anomalies.

If Sri Lanka has a high literacy rate today with a high degree of intelligence, creativity, initiative and imaginative skills especially among the young people, free education is responsible for it.

Instead of trying to privatise education, the two ministers need to focus more attention on changing the aims, goals and attitudes in education. Passing examinations by fair means or foul and through the scourge of private tuition must not be the priority. Instead we need to create a spirit of inquiry in children, making them interested to find out why various things happen as they do. Then the children will see education as a blessing and not as a burden.

Sri Lanka university teachers to strike from July 04


Wed, Jun 13, 2012, 12:14 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Jun 13, Colombo: Sri Lanka Federation of University Teachers Association (FUTA) yesterday informed the Minister of Higher Education S.B. Dissanayaka in writing that they will launch a continuous strike from July 04.
A copy of the letter has been forwarded to the Presidential Secretariat as well, the Chairman of the FUTA, Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri said.
The FUTA demands granting the salary increase promised by the government in 2008, increasing allocations for education up to 6% of GDP, freeing universities from politicization and granting facilities to admit children of the university teachers to the schools.
FUTA points out in its letter that the decision to strike is taken due to government's failure to grant any solutions even after launching a token strike.

Professors: Underutilised  treasure in our universities?

, the island

article_image
by Professor Ranjith Senaratne,
Vice Chairman, University Grants Commission

Continued from yesterday

Critical examination of the role of Professor in a seat of higher learning

A professor occupies the highest echelon in the career of academic, who could make a substantial contribution to the advancement of academic and research activities, image building and institutional development. The Professoriate also probably represents the most important intellectual resource and asset of a higher education institution. Thus it is not unreasonable to expect a great deal from professors. Yet, strangely enough, the role of a professor remains undefined and no job description exists for a university professor. This seems to be the case in most of the universities in the world including the UK. In view of this lacuna, Prof. Bruce Macfarlane at Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong carried out extensive research on this subject, which led to a seminal publication titled "Intellectual Leadership in Higher Education: Reviewing the Role of the University Professor". He argues that Professor is not only a career grade, but also a leadership role.

Professors through their cutting edge research occupy a place on the frontiers of knowledge and hold a share in moving them forward. The new knowledge generated gives rise to new discoveries, theories, frameworks, critiques, analyses and models, which others draw upon and are influenced by. Thus they are prominent "academic citizens" who apply their disciplinary or professional specialism for enhancing scholarly and public outreach work; and thereby they occupy leadership position in scholarly societies. They could influence policy makers through public debate on social, moral, cultural, political and environmental issues and help to form and mould public opinion. In addition, professors have a moral obligation to stand up against undemocratic and oppressive moves by regimes and external agents, even when such interventions fall outside their immediate area of expertise.

However, it should be stressed that not necessarily all professors in the Sri Lankan Universities belong to the class of intellectual elite or be considered a treasure. Regrettably, some have contributed minimally to the advancement and dissemination of knowledge even in their own fields; and have not published in any indexed journal so that their "international presence" is invisible. Moreover, as per the current evaluation procedure, possessing a doctoral degree is not a pre-requisite to become a professor. In many countries in the world, including neighbouring India, a PhD is a must to become a professor. Weaknesses in the Circular No. 916 have led to the regrettable situation in Sri Lanka. The circular is presently under review by the UGC with a view to closing the gap. There is a also a growing concern that some professors in certain faculties are engaged in consultancy work during working hours because of attractive remunerations. This has affected their availability at the university. This is unhealthy and appropriate steps need to be taken to prevent such improper practices.

In a knowledge economy, universities the world over are moving away from the classical intellectual model towards a more pragmatic, business-oriented and entrepreneurial model. They expect professors to be knowledge entrepreneurs generating income from their intellect through capitalization of knowledge, consultancies, patents and other means. However, owing to academic conservatism, some Vice Chancellors remain averse to this seemingly commercial model and reject the idea that university professors should contribute to wealth creation through transformation of new ideas and knowledge into innovative products, processes or services. Professor Macfarlane in his article in the Times Higher Education of 17 November, 2011 has put forward the following five suggestions in order to make fuller use of professors as intellectual leaders.

1. Expect all Professors to contribute locally

Professors, by definition are, cosmopolitan, and they identify with international research groups and scholarly societies. Yet, they should be engaged in mentoring and promoting the career progression of junior staff in their own institution and contributing to it as a community. The Universities should develop a mechanism to get the most out of Professors with respect to institutional development.

2. Value creativity and originality over productivity

The academic productivity of Professors is primarily measured by the number of publications in indexed journals and their impact is gauged in terms of citations. In certain instances, research is concentrated in highly specialized fields and papers emanating from research are published in a narrow range of journals. Evaluating professors in this way may increase productivity in a narrow sense, but it does precious little to promote creativity and originality. In addition to the intellectual merits of a research proposal, professors need to align their research to university goals and objectives and to regional and national development. To facilitate such a shift, the Universities need to evolve a mechanism to support innovative and novel research in line with national needs, contributing to value creation. Here it is necessary to adopt a balanced approach providing for non-themed or blue-sky research as well as themed research.

3. Make better use of Emeritus and Retired Professors

Passionate commitment to intellectual pursuits does not necessarily diminish with age. This is substantiated by the fact that some of the most influential Professors in the modern world such as Richard Dawkins, Noam Chomsky and Germaine Greer are emeritus in status. We can take the cue from US institutions that have established Emeritus Colleges, which offers retired Professor an opportunity to continue teaching and research. This also affords more opportunities for the junior academics to receive advice and guidance for career progression and professional development. In fact the UGC is currently in the process of developing a data base of retired Professors with a view to obtaining their services to reinforce and consolidate the new initiatives of the Government for the internationalization of our Universities and improving their world ranking with the objective of making Sri Lanka an educational hub. They could also contribute towards making up academic deficiencies in newly established Universities and provide able and mature academic leadership to the new academic institutions being established, both public and private, so as to improve access to higher education

4. Nurture and guide Professors

An academic who has satisfied the criteria to be appointed a professor may not instantly be able to perform as an intellectual leader. Like anybody else, newly appointed professors need guidance and development to help them discharge their role effectively. This will obviously not include as Prof. Macfarlane put it, an anodyne induction into ‘University Processes and Procedures", but a short programme by experienced professors on how to articulate the new role – a role that goes beyond the pursuit of personal publication and income generation to embrace activities and initiatives aimed at helping universities to attain their goals and realize their dreams and potential.

Continued tomorrow